Swing states divided on transgender bathroom issue

Lee Churchill, of Raleigh, N.C., shows her support for the state’s HB2 law during a rally at the Halifax Mall in Raleigh on Monday, April 25, 2016. (Photo: Chuck Liddy, The News & Observer via AP)

From commencement addresses to major university policy changes, the hot button issue of transgender bathroom rights has caused an uproar across the nation and according to a new poll, the issue may influence voters in the upcoming presidential election.

The effect is being felt on college campus across the country, too.

A Quinnipiac University survey released June 23, shows the storm over transgender bathroom rights has hit the presidential elections, dividing critical swing states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The poll shows voters from these states are evenly divided on whether or not transgender people should be allowed to use public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. In Florida, 48 percent of the 975 voters polled say transgender people should have the right to use public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, while 44 percent say they should not be allowed.

The survey revealed similar outcomes in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Ohio, 48 percent of 971 voters polled say transgender people should not be allowed to choose a bathroom, while 43 percent support that right. Likewise, 49 percent of 950 Pennsylvania voters support the transgender right to a bathroom, while 43 percent don’t.

The transgender bathroom rights battle came to a head when North Carolina enacted a law in March that banned local municipalities from enacting non-discriminatory ordinances designed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The controversial bill, also known as House Bill 2, was a reaction to a Charlotte ordinance that would have prevented discrimination in public accommodations by sexual orientation or sexual identification.

In response to the passing of North Carolina’s anti-LGBT bill, the Obama administration announced new federal rules that school bathrooms are designed to protect transgender students from bullying. Since the announcement of the federal guidance, critics and supporters have voiced their concerns. Eleven states, including Arizona and Oklahoma, have filed lawsuits on the U.S. Federal Government in defiance of the inclusive federal requirements.

Where are colleges in this debate? Institutions like Yale University, the University of Vermont and Smith and Barnard Colleges have implemented policies to accommodate a more inclusive environment:

Yale unveiled new gender neutral bathrooms in May.

The University of Vermont last year also began officially addressing transgender students using the name and gender pronoun of their choice.

Both Smith College and Barnard College, all-women’s schools in Massachusetts and New York, respectively, also made headlines last year when they began admitting students who were considered male at birth but identify as female.

Yale added unisex bathrooms on campus & are giving transgender grads to choose what name they want on their diploma pic.twitter.com/7WLvGAGFqY

And the outcome was almost identical in Ohio, where voters say they oppose a bathroom mandate on public schools 55 – 36 percent.

“The issue of transgender people and the use of public bathrooms finds voters split on exactly what should be done,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

“Voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania oppose the federal government order to public schools that they must let transgender students use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. But they are split roughly evenly on whether these students should be able to use whatever bathroom they choose,” Brown added.

Alexandra Bice is a student at Arizona State University and a USA TODAY College correspondent.